Norfolk County Council
Consultation on proposed closure of Docking Recycling Centre
1.
Introduction
Our proposal
Norfolk County Council provides 20 Recycling Centres where people can dispose of
their personal household waste. Currently, 94% of Norfolk’s population is within a 20
minute drive of a recycling centre.
We proposed making savings of £280,000 in the Putting People First budget
consultation. Due to changes in government legislation, we have had to put some of
the changes on hold and others were referred back to committee. To make this saving
and continue to be more efficient, we have reviewed the use of all of our Recycling
Centres to identify how we can get the best from our recycling network.
Following on from this review we are proposing to close Docking Recycling Centre. If we
closed Docking Recycling Centre it would save us around £70,000 per year.
Background information
In terms of visitor numbers, Docking Recycling Centre is our quietest site with
approximately 15,000 users last year. Other part-time recycling centres (open 4 days a
week) see around 25,000 visitors per year.
During 2014/15 Docking Recycling Centre dealt with 776 tonnes of waste, which is the
lowest level of any of Norfolk’s Recycling Centres. For comparison, Wereham Recycling
Centre processed 2,125 tonnes of waste in 2014/15.
In 2014/15 Docking Recycling Centre was the most expensive site to operate costing us
£229 per tonne. Wereham cost us £114 per tonne in comparison.
What would happen if we closed Docking?
Driving further to a Recycling Centre - Residents that currently use the Docking
Recycling Centre may need to travel further to a recycling centre. However, there are a
number of alternative recycling centres in the local area were the site to close.
Hempton Recycling Centre is approximately 12 miles from Docking, a journey of around
20 minutes. Hempton is also a full time Recycling Centre, open 7 days a week. Heacham
Recycling Centre is approximately 6 miles from Docking, a journey of approximately 10
minutes. Both of which are within our service standard of a 20 minute drive from a
recycling centre and have capacity to accept additional waste from Docking.
Kerbside collections – There could be an increase in the amount kerbside waste for
collection. However, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council offer kerbside
waste collection, including recyclable and non-recyclable household waste and green
garden waste. In October 2014 additional materials were introduced in the kerbside
collection of recyclables, including plastic containers and glass.
Increase in Bulky waste collections – There could be an increase in the number of large
household items that would need collecting from local residents. However, King’s Lynn
and West Norfolk Borough Council offer a bulky waste collection service for the
removal of large household items. There is a small fee for this service.
What would happen if we didn’t close Docking?
The £70,000 per annum saving we have identified by closing Docking is likely to be
made elsewhere in the recycling network. This could have an impact on other recycling
centres that are processing more waste and experiencing higher numbers of visitors.
2.
Who we are consulting
We will be consulting:


Users of Docking Recycling Centre
Anyone that might be affected by this proposal
3.
4.
How we are consulting

Through this written consultation document. You can respond in writing, by
email or online.

We will ensure that our consultation is accessible by making the information
available in different formats.
When we are consulting
Our consultation starts Monday 28 September and runs for four weeks until Sunday 25
October.
5.
What we want to find out
1. How far do you agree or disagree with our proposal to close Docking Recycling
Centre?
2. Why do you think this?
3. If our proposal to close Docking went ahead what impact, if any, would this
have on you?
6.
Background / Information to help you come to a decision
For more detailed information please read our recycling centre service review
How can I respond to the consultation?
7.
Norfolk County Council would like your views on the proposals set out in this
document.
We need your views by Sunday 25 October
When responding, please state whether you are responding as an individual or
representing the views of an organisation.

You can respond at https://norfolk.citizenspace.com/consultation/docking-recyclingcentre-consultation


You can email your response to: consultationteam@norfolk.gov.uk
Or you can respond in writing to:
Freepost Plus RTCL-XSTT-JZSK
Norfolk County Council
County Hall
Martineau Lane
NORWICH
NR1 2DH
8.
How we will make our decision and feed this back to you
The outcomes of this consultation will be reported to our Environment, Development
and Transport Committee on 20 November 2015. This Committee will decide whether
or not to take the proposal forward.
9.
Further information
If you have any questions or need any further information please contact:
Member of waste team for detailed questions
Email: waste.management@norfolk.gov.uk
Tel: 0344 8008020
Information about responding to this consultation
Responding on behalf of a group
If you are responding on behalf of a group we will ask you to give a summary of the people
and organisations you represent and, where relevant, who else you have consulted in
reaching your conclusions.
Personal information, confidentiality and data protection
Information you provide in response to this consultation, including personal information,
may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information laws. This
includes the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA)
and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware
that, under the FOIA, there is a statutory Code of Practice that we have to comply with that
deals with issues of confidentiality. Because of this it would be helpful if you could explain to
us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a
request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation but
we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An
automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system is not enough, in itself, to
be regarded as binding.
We will process your personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act, which
means that we will not give your personal data to any third parties.
Receiving your comments
We are sorry but we are unable to respond to everyone to let them know that we have
received their comments.
Your opinions are valuable to us.
Thank you for taking the time to read this document and respond.
If need this information in large print, audio, Braille,
alternative format or in a different language please
contact Ben Dunne Tel: 01603 495102
Email: ben.dunne@norfolk.gov.uk and we
will do our best to help